I wasn’t exactly ready for Ready or Not. Horror movies are not my thing. But with IT Chapter Two waiting in the wings, I thought it best to ease into the horror with a bit of camp. And that’s what Ready or Not is: a quirky, campy horror flick that is bloody entertaining, in an off-the-chain Grimm Fairytales sort of way. It’s about a new bride who gets roped into playing a deadly game of Hide and Seek with her rich and eccentric new in-laws immediately following her wedding on the grounds of the family’s creepy mansion. Aint love grand?

Australian actress Samara Weaving (a dead ringer – pun intended- for Australian actress Margot Robbie) plays the aforementioned bride, Grace, a young woman who was raised in foster care and is psyched to become part of a real family. Never mind that her doting groom Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien) makes it pretty darn clear that his relatives aren’t exactly the Cleavers and she may want to opt out before the ‘I Do’s.’ She dismisses his concerns, they tie the knot, and…

Let the games begin.

Grace ends up in a fight for her life, running around the mansion in her wedding dress as the Le Domas patriarch (Henry Czerny), matriarch (Andie MacDowell), crazy Aunt (a scene-stealing Nicky Guadagni), an assortment of siblings including tormented alcoholic Daniel (Adam Brody) and others seek to kill Grace before dawn or risk the wrath of their long-deceased benefactor. The weapons are varied (axe, crossbow, vintage shotgun, pots and pans…) and the family’s murderous skills are somewhat rusty, which proves particularly unfortunate for the housing staff.

I don’t understand why Grace didn’t change out of her wedding dress before heading down to the parlor for the family’s midnight initiation ‘game’. But that’s neither here nor there. She’s a resourceful gal. The dress comes in handy. And she does ditch the heels.

Ready or Not takes some unexpected twists and turns along the way to an outrageous and mostly satisfying conclusion. If you’re looking for ‘camp’ in the waning days of summer, Ready or Not stands ready to deliver.

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